Salt and Sacrifice Reviews

Salt and Sacrifice is ranked in the 63rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
May 10, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice is an ambitious sequel that attempts to integrate Monster Hunter mechanics into an already crowded Metroidvania/Soulslike formula. It's not a great mix, but the strength of its core combat, customization, and refreshing co-op still make it worth at least a look.

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No Recommendation / Blank
May 16, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice is a riff on what came before, but not an entirely successful one. A tense, fraught combat system with gallons of customisation options carries Ska Studios’ sequel, and boss fights are entertaining if overly tough at times, but the storytelling and narrative designs of Salt and Sanctuary can’t hold up their end of the bargain.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
6 / 10
May 9, 2022

Another impressive attempt at a 2D Soulsborne but a less entertaining game than Salt And Sanctuary, with some frustrating combat that doesn't always feel entirely fair.

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7 / 10.0
May 17, 2022

I want to like Salt and Sacrifice, and in some stretches, I do. I enjoyed exploring the world, concepts of hunting and crafting, and the moody atmosphere, which kept me continuing for dozens of hours. But its clunky progression systems and many maddening enemy encounters quickly make the fun times easy to forget.

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7 / 10
May 16, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice imbues its Souls-like formula with elements from Monster Hunter, creating a peculiar mixture that falls just short of realizing its full potential.

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6.5 / 10.0
May 25, 2022

Unfortunately, Salt and Sacrifice discarded way too much to place the focus on multiplayer. The aspects I do like, the exploration and combat, are carried over from the original game. The core Mage Hunt gameplay loop is tedious, and the lack of fast travel made me sick of seeing the same scenery repeatedly. You’ll probably find something to love here if you have a friend to place this game with and enjoy the original. However, as a solo adventure, it’s severely lacking.

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TJ Denzer
Top Critic
8 / 10
May 9, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice does a lot of cool things on top of the Soulsborne 2D action-platforming system created for the first game. The focus on hunting mages is a cool twist and getting their components and making new gear was the stuff that’s made Monster Hunter a blast for decades. Even then, there’s plenty to explore in each biome between the mage hunts. I’m not fond of collecting berries for my healing flask and I feel it can get unfair when mages team up on me. However, getting stronger and coming back with enough might that not even multiple mages could stop me made Salt and Sacrifice’s 2D Soulsborne exploration and mage fights an intoxicating quest to wield the very power I was hunting.

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6.5 / 10.0
May 16, 2022

Rough, sometimes intriguing, sometimes frustrating: Salt and Sacrifice does its job, but it doesn't always go smoothly. The Mage hunting sequences are clever, but the pieces of the puzzle sometimes simply don't fit together.

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7 / 10.0
May 20, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice may not be as exciting as the first part, but it's definitely worth the experience, especially for Souls fans.

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9 / 10.0
May 9, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice may not be the best Metroidvania ever made, but as a 2D distillation of the Soulslike formula, this is pure gaming alchemy.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2023

The Steam release adds nothing new to the game overall, but if you have access to a Steam Deck then Salt and Sacrifice comes highly recommended.

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Unscored
May 9, 2022

A sidescrolling metroidvania with beautiful art and rewarding exploration, kept just shy of greatness by some frustrating design decisions

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80 / 100
May 24, 2022

Despite my minor complaints, Salt and Sacrifice is an insanely fun Souls-like featuring brutal challenges, great level designs, beautiful hand drawn graphics, interesting enemies and boss fights, cool gear to find and upgrade, a fun leveling system, and one of the most enjoyable co-op experiences I've had in quite a while. The fact that this game was designed by so few people and is of such high quality for a relatively low MSRP of $19.99 is nothing short of astounding. While not perfect, Salt and Sacrifice kept me entertained for well over 20 hours and made me excited for the next entry in this incredible series.

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May 10, 2022

Overall, Salt and Sacrifice still nails the core elements that make a 2D reimagining of Dark Souls a compelling idea thanks to its fundamental understanding of how character and level progression should flow and its expansive combat system. By adding in an extra layer of Metroidvania-style exploration and a unique approach to boss encounters with its Mage Hunt mechanic, Salt and Sacrifice sees Ska Studios carve out a space for itself as more than the studio that is good at making 2D Dark Souls games.

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May 9, 2022

With all of that said, it cannot be understated how compelling this game feels. It takes all the best things from its inspirations and blends them together in a way that works. It’s a game with the combat of a Soulslike, the gameplay loop of a Monster Hunter, and the exploration of a Metroidvania, all set against a beautiful backdrop - conflicting flavours that come together to form a delicious experience. It’s greater than the sum of its parts, and it’s a game I won’t be putting down for a very long time.

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90 / 100
May 9, 2022

Occasional minor frustrations with the controls aside, it’s hard to find fault with Salt and Sacrifice’s challenging combat and level design. The original was one of the best 2D Soulslikes, and this follow-up has a more appealing style and plays even better, with more varied mechanics and deeper choices. While recent FromSoftware games have encouraged more assertive approaches to enemy encounters, Salt and Sacrifice has an old-school vibe that demands patience, determination, a willingness to grind and the ability to find satisfaction in doing so. Fans of the original won’t be disappointed, and more recent Souls converts will find a new addiction as well.

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8.3 / 10.0
May 9, 2022

Despite some flaws here and there, much like its predecessor Salt and Sacrifice is a solid soulslike that will keep fans of the genre diving into it, one "obliterated" after the next. Everyone else should be wary of its often unforgiving enemies, though.

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Unscored
May 16, 2022
Salt and Sacrifice | Review in 3 Minutes - YouTube video thumbnail
7 / 10
May 10, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice is enjoyable in short bursts. It retains certain core concepts from the original, including a fairly controversial one: the lack of a map. This is further compounded by repetitive Mage Hunts that become tedious after a while.

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8 / 10.0
May 20, 2022

Salt and Sacrifice to Salt and Sanctuary is like Dark Souls 2 to Dark Souls 1. It diverges a lot from the original, with some ideas that work well and some that don't. All in all, it's still an excellent 2-D Souls-like Metroidvania that brilliantly infuses Monster Hunter elements with challenging combat. Despite some poor design choices and questionable difficulty spikes, it's still astonishing to think this game was created by a team of just two people.

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